PASSION FOR A CAUSE

Rebellion of the academic sort - runs in Anna Yip's blood. The deputy CEO of Singtel Singapore tells us how self-love, confidence, and a passion for tech guide her as she leads one of the nation's most established telecommunications companies into the future.

- Karishma Tulsidas

When Anna Yip was 12 years old, she saw an ad in the papers in her native Hong Kong for a scholarship to study in Singapore. Without telling her family, she applied and got in.

In 1984, she spent a year at Hwa Chong Institute, but was ushered back to Hong Kong when her mother realised that her daily commute from her accommodation at Ngee Ann Polytechnic to the school was untenable.

The deputy CEO of Singtel Singapore and CEO of Business Development at Singtel has always had a slightly rebellious streak. Four years ago, she made the difficult decision to leave her job as CEO and executive director of Hong Kong's leading telecommunications company, Smartone, to accompany her husband when he got a posting to Singapore, to be with him and their 16-year-old daughter.

"I had many questions, like whether I could deal with the change, and whether it was right to step down. But I had clear priorities and goals.

While my career is important, my family is equally important, so that's what I needed to prioritise," explains the 54-year-old.

She spent six to eight months working on her transition plan with the Smartone board. "I had the confidence that I would manage the [shift], and I would survive and come out stronger, or at least different. Having that courage and confidence is part of life." She pauses, adding: "I think loving yourself is important. Because if I didn't, I would have found it hard to change, and I would keep worrying whether I would get [a similar role]." Proving that worrying is a futile endeavour, she received a call from Singtel during the Smartone leadership transition, to take on the role of deputy CEO, Consumer Singapore. She joined Singtel in 2020, which put paid to all her plans to take time out to recharge and perhaps explore entrepreneurship.

BUILDING LIFE-LONG SKILLS